The Internet as a Tax Haven?

If online transactions are tax free, increased online shopping may lower tax rates as jurisdictions seek to reduce tax avoidance; but, if online firms remit taxes, online sales may put upward pressure on tax rates because internet sales help enforce destination-based taxes. I find that higher internet penetration generally results in lower municipal tax rates but raises tax rates in some jurisdictions. The latter effect emerges in states where many online vendors remit taxes. A 1 standard deviation increase in internet penetration lowers local sales taxes in large municipalities by 0.15 percentage points, or 16 percent of the average rate. (JEL H25, H26, H71, L81, R51)

The Use of Trust Seals in European and Latin American Commercial Transactions

The emergence of the Internet as a commercialization method has offered organizations many opportunities. However, when buyers want to execute a transaction online, a certain distrust typically accompanies the need to provide personal data. To address this problem, assurance seals have been designed for use on websites. Different guarantee logos certify compliance with buyer protection laws and offer transparency in the commercial process. Thus, assurance seals displayed on the websites of sellers that adhere to a specific trust system allow consumers to choose among entities that have publicly committed to best business practices. We researched 130 sellers in Europe and Latin America that adhere to assurance seals in order to determine the influence of such seals. Our research shows that the use of trust seals increases Internet sales for more than 66% of these companies, improves their corporate image, enhances the number of potential buyers who visit their websites, and generally captures consumers’ attention.

PICKUP AND DELIVERY COSTS - PROPOSED OUTSOURCING MODEL

The active introduction and modern technologies application in the transport market greatly affect all transport branches and the ways of their business. Availability and mass usage of the internet and web services create a new ambiance of trade through online sales respectively e-commerce. The increase in internet sales has a direct effect on the business of courier companies. The increase in the number of shipments, especially in the B2C (Business-to-consumer) segment, is putting increasing pressure on costs for companies that do pickup and delivery. Companies are trying to adapt their business to the new challenges and conditions that prevail in the transport market through different cost management models. One way to manage costs is to outsourcing costs. This paper proposes a model cost calculation in outsourcing services for pickup and delivery shipments based on the number of stops.

Considerations on exclusivity clauses

In the context of internet sales can we still speak about a traditional exclusivity clause inserted in commercial contracts? As a market development, we can see that even without the COVID 19 pandemic, Internet sales were boosted all over the world. With international actors such as Amazon, JD.com Inc., E-bay or Apple as well as many others, we have seen ecommerce sale rise up to 3.46 trillion US dollars in 2019 alone. Even if these sales only amount to 16.4% of global sales, according to digital commerce specialists, the numbers will be much higher during and post pandemic. This being said, is there any place left for traditional exclusivity clauses inserted in many commercial contracts such as franchise, distribution or agency contracts? What will happen with specific clauses that grant one of the parties the right to an exclusive use of a territory or the right to address a certain population? During the years, doctrine as well as jurisprudence has shown that exclusivity clauses must be drafted with balance; the risk is huge in the sense that it might restrict the free access to the market, offer clients products that are of lesser quality or lead to a stranglehold of the market. On the other hand, the use of contracts that contain exclusivity clauses might become irrelevant for the beneficiary as they will no longer offer the protection and specific interest. The study aims to analyse exclusivity clauses as defined in the national and international regulations as well as study the current framework and the jurisprudence’s position on exclusivity clauses, especially the ones related to e-commerce.

Cynoglossum amabile (Chinese forget-me-not).

Cynoglossum amabile is a perennial herb in warmer climates but also grows as an annual in cooler climates. It is native to China and Bhutan but has also been widely planted as an ornamental plant around the world in temperate and tropical climates and is often naturalized where it is planted. It has not been recorded as an invasive species, however, it is considered a weed according to some sources and reportedly spreads as an escape from gardens, via the seed and nursery trade and via internet sales. Information about its impacts where it is naturalized is lacking.

In the Purchase’s Essence: Sensory and symbolic elements in the descriptions of perfume sales over the Internet

This study aimed to analyse whether sensory and symbolic elements used in perfume descriptions in internet sales can positively influence the level of involvement and consumer buying intention. To do so, a quasi-experimental design was adopted with the creation of three scenarios: one control group and two experimental groups. Each participant was presented to only one of the scenarios created, characterizing the model between subjects. Regarding the results, it was found that it is not possible to perceive differences between the means of the groups in relation to the dependent variables, except for a negative association between sensory aspects and the level of involvement. Therefore, it was concluded that it may not be advantageous to invest in sensory and symbolic aspects present in the product description in internet sales, it is necessary to rethink this strategy due the fact that this environment has a certain limitation with hedonics products.

The Relationship between E-Commerce and Firm Performance: The Mediating Role of Internet Sales Channels

This paper postulates that the effect of e-commerce on firm performance is not direct and needs to be examined using mediating factors. The Ordinary Least-Squares (OLS) model was employed with the data of the Flash Eurobarometer 439 Survey entitled The Use of Online Marketplaces and Search Engines by small and medium enterprises. The obtained findings provide support for the mediating hypothesis. To be more precise, while the relationship between e-commerce and firm performance is negative, it is positively mediated by certain types of internet sales channels. In particular, the benefits of e-commerce in terms of higher sales are more pronounced when firms use commercial websites and online marketplaces. On the other hand, the interaction between e-commerce and search engines has an insignificant effect on firm performance. This study advances research on e-commerce by emphasizing the importance of mediating effect.